Chapter 26
The days sped on wings, and both Lily and Edward were busy with estate and nuptial preparations.
They rarely saw each other. The call on their time proved demanding.
A large gathering was expected, including Lily’s family.
They were to be housed in a luxurious suite within the heavily fortified gatehouse and separate from the main buildings.
Still, the arrangement was not to Edward’s liking.
He trusted them not at all. He knew with a certainty that Lily was ignorant of any of their subversive plots.
He intended to prove that to his king’s satisfaction very soon.
Jessop had unearthed an agent for him, a renegade with a grudge against his former master.
He had interesting things to say and even more interesting names to confirm.
Edward would not put it past his adversaries to try for some advantage during the wedding visit. He expected something nasty, just enough mischief to stir up opposition to the current balance of power—his own in particular, as a favorite of the king.
He wanted Lily as far from their machinations as possible. And in his own backyard, he wanted to control their comings and goings. In order to implement his plan, he must impose the kind of restrictions he knew she loathed.
He spent some time thinking about how he could soften what she would see as a return to His Arrogance, as she’d so astutely named him.
So it happened that the evening before the first guest arrived, he took her alone for a moonlit ride on Windfar.
The scent of a summer-laden night was all about them.
Overhead, the satin-dark sky was alight with silver.
A moon, swollen to the full, hung huge and bright enough to cast shadows along the beaten road winding down from the gate.
No one was about. The village of Ravenby, sheltering along the massive fortified walls, slept.
Lily curled up in his lap and sighed. Windfar’s rhythmic canter was putting her to sleep. She glanced up at Edward, but did not question him. She sensed his preoccupation and knew if he wished her to know his thoughts, he would tell her.
“This is a fairy horse, this one. His footfall is lighter than air. Where did you find such a one as he?” she asked her voice husky with sleep.
“How clever of you to know. A fairy horse, so naturally, I got him in fairyland. And what a price I had to pay, but he was worth it.”
“And what did you pay with? Gold or a handful of leaves?”
He laughed. She was looking at him, but his warrior’s eyes scanned the surroundings.
It would not do to become careless. Even this close to his gates, there was a need for caution.
Knowing that his men secured the wide valley around, he felt confident enough about their midnight excursion, but it always paid to check.
Sensing her gaze on him, he inclined his head to look at her beautiful face. Her mouth, berry sweet, was all but irresistible. A torrent of moonlight fell upon her. He caught his breath. The enforced celibacy of the past few days agitated him more than he liked to admit.
He had told himself to find a diversion for his rising lust, but more and more the idea struck him as absurd. He could no more keep from touching her than cease breathing.
“Did I ever tell you that this horse understands our speech?” he asked. “English, Norman French, Parisian French. I need no bridle or tack to get him to do as I wish. Just a word. Useful when you are in the thick of battle and have no time to nudge your destrier in or out of the fray.”
Lily laughed. “Oh, I don’t believe it. What a terrible fib to tell.” The musical notes of her mirth shone in her face.
“You cast aspersions on my word?” he said with feigned affront.
“I do,” she said.
“I do,” he mused, almost to himself. “Watch this, then,” he added with a touch of pride, and he leaned forward slightly and spoke in the horse’s ear. “Windfar, take me to the greensward where I may have some privacy.”
Instantly, the horse turned a sharp left and cantered off through a field of tall flowers. Lily gasped at the sudden swing, but she was securely held and in no danger of falling.
Edward had not intended to make love to her this night, but desire played havoc with his control. “Faster, Windfar, I have need of haste.”
With barely a flicker of his ears or a swish of his tail, the splendid animal opened his gait and sprinted off under the silver sky.
In minutes, they came to the teardrop-shaped lake that Lily had noticed when she looked out at the panorama from Ravensworth’s tower.
All around it on this near side was a greensward of lush turf where, by day, sheep grazed.
The pasture was empty now, the grass close-cropped and cushiony looked delightful to walk on.
Edward dismounted, spread his thick mantle, and reached up to take her down. Holding her head in his two large hands, he kissed her, sinking with her onto the luxurious lining. There she lay upon her back, looking like some magical creature made of moonbeams and summer nights.
There was no time to fully divest themselves of their clothes, such was their haste. With very few preliminaries, he soon gathered her close for their journey to bliss.
Lily yielded to him everything, every last sliver of emotion. She held back nothing, and he could not have drunk more potent wine.
After, he held her, stroking her silken hair with one hand, while the other pressed her head into his chest as close as possible to his heart.
Softly the night song of crickets intruded upon their bliss.
The trance-like beauty of their lovemaking slowly fell away and they returned to the summer’s night once again.
“Lily,” said Edward. His voice sounded stiff with reluctance. A regret to break the silence, or something else? “There is a promise I must wrest from you.”
The note of remorse in his voice made her pull away and raise herself on one elbow so that she could see him. “What is it?”
“As you know, your family will be arriving tomorrow. They’re being housed in the gatehouse.”
She made a small sound of disappointment. It had been her understanding that they would occupy one of the guesthouses in the inner ward along with the other important guests.
“Even at so public an event, you do not trust their discretion?” she said, her voice sounded brittle and unsure. “I-I see. Rest assured, I will not contest you.”
“That pleases me, but no, that isn’t it. Dislike the idea or no, you have not the means to defy me on the issue of security, and we both know it.”
That bit of high-handedness earned him a scornful look, and he chortled, despite the serious nature of the discussion.
“Then what vexes you?”
“You know I consider your people my enemies. I know too, that you do not see it that way. My duty above all else demands that I protect what is mine and my king’s.
I have to ask for your promise that you will not meet with any of them.
Or send them word, or liaise in any manner with them without notifying me.
You must reveal to me even the most innocuous message.
That way, I can regain some measure of control and assess the dangers as they present themselves.
I will not forbid you to meet with them under the strictures I have put before you. ”
Lily looked at him for a long while. He felt the wash of uncertainty seep into his blood, and did not like it one bit. “Do you think you could make that promise?” he asked quietly.
She nodded. “You ask only for my promise? That’s all?”
He was so startled he could almost not reply. Of all her answers, this one had never occurred to him. He could clearly see her hurt, but her words were opaque to him.
“What do you mean?”
‘That I am honored you think my promise counts for something. As you believe this threat capable of real harm to you, my lord, surely you would ask for more than my promise?”
“What more?” he asked.
“My oath,” she said simply. “I will swear to you, Edward, a solemn vow. I shall not meet with them. Not in any way, lest I tell you first.”
Edward stared at her as if with new eyes. His lady flower, she surprised and delighted him at every turn.
Have a care, he told himself as he embraced her. You will find yourself in love with her if you are not careful. His smile could not have been more reckless.